Most of the time I prefer to test something out thoroughly before I share my thoughts with you, but I literally had a mental explosion after swatching the Estee Lauder Violet Underground Eyeshadow Palette and the Quick-Thick Eyeliner that I feel obliged to show you as soon as I can! Besides the swatches (both wet and dry), I did a little comparison as well as mixing so that you can see the possibilities with this palette are endless!
The Estee Lauder powder gelee eyeshadows aren’t exactly new news. If I am not mistaken, the Shimmering Sands Palette that came out this summer was the first one. The “tribrid” and “True Vision” technology involved give the eyeshadows a texture between powder, gel, and cream. They are also supposed to have a very metallic finish that allows you to crank up the volume of your eye looks!
In this palette we get a peachy beige, a violet with a blue sheen, a warm bronzy brown, a fuchsia, and a rich black. Swatched dry all the shades are already very smooth and pigmented, except for the fuchsia that takes a tiny bit of building up to have the same intensity. However, in the swatch picture you see, I only had to build it up once. Therefore, I assume using it on the eyes will not be a frustratingly time-consuming experience.
If you think things are good enough, here are the shades swatched wet:
Estee Lauder is right! When swatched wet this just becomes a cream, but not one with a heavy texture. The shades go on really smooth, dry almost instantly, and are much more saturated and metallic than they are when used dry. The only thing about using them wet is that the nice pattern gets smudged fast. I personally don’t feel too bad because I prefer to use makeup instead of collecting it, but you should know this if you really want to keep it in a pristine condition (in that case the best thing to do is to wet your brush and restrict it to a small area of each shade).
Some of you have asked me how close the fuchsia shade is to Urban Decay Junkshow (from the 15th Anniversary Palette), so here is a comparison swatch!
Left: Urban Decay Junkshow Right: Violet Underground
From what I can see Junkshow is much more blue-based.
Now who’s ready for some mixing fun? The “purple” Gigi used on me was created with her mixing the shades of this palette, so I tried to do the same.
The one on the left is a mixture of the fuchsia and violet. The one on the right is a mixture of the fuchsia, violet, and bronzy brown. As you can see the one on the right has a little more warmth and intensity which I adore!
I’ll give you a little more time to simultaneously daydream and drool before I move on to the second piece, Punker Black Quick-Thick Liner.
This chubby little pen is actually a liquid eyeliner that comes with a marker-type tip. I find it easier to hold a chubby pen in comparison to a thin one, though I’d be really happy if it’s longer.
The finish is opaque and glossy, but it does take a long time to dry down. It remains smudgeable for quite some time, so I think it would be best to use this as a base. Gigi coated a brush with the eyeliner to use as a base, and it did hold up well like that. I will play with it a bit more and tell you what it does best so that you can decide if it’s something you might be interested in!
Here is the swatch:
What do you think so far? Will you be picking the palette up?
Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx
Disclosure: The products mentioned in this review are provided by the PR for my consideration. All opinions are honest and my own. I am in no way compensated for this review. I have always been, and will always be committed ONLY to my readers.
Wow, this is gorgeously pigmented; esp in the wet swatches! I really like the EL powder gelee texture, though I’ve only experienced it in the cheek product form. I agree with you about not buying makeup to collect it; it inevitably leads to guilt (at no use) or heartache (at use)!
Oh Dovey you should take a look at the eyeshadows (I’m not even saying this because I’m an eyeshadow freak before everything else lol)! They hold up like nobody’s business when used wet. I’m seriously impressed!
Oh wow the shades are pretty! I’ve always been interested in these shadows but they always seem so sparkly :/! This palette doesn’t seem that sparkly so maybe I’ll have a look at it! I don’t know that I would wear bright pink though! Hmmmm!
These are not too sparkly. When used dry they have a more satin finish, but under the sun you see some tiny micro shimmer that I find very pretty (and not over the top). It’s when they are used wet that they become party-worthy!
So here is what I do when I want to wear a pop of color on my lids: I use this pop of color for the outer half of my lids, but I blend a darker neutral shade in my outer v/into the crease to tone it down. Hope it helps? I’m going to take on the challenge of using the fuchsia on my lids soon!
Oh I’ll give that a try! I wear way less colors now in general than i used to, but really i can do a smoky eye till the end of time (which the bf hates, think we talked about this before lol) and i love putting colors in layers… but that’s not practical for my daily life now, and if he dislikes it i won’t typically take the time to do a look he doesn’t enjoy much lol… You know!
I must say I have never been so mesmerised by a palette before! 😀
Haha I’m glad you feel the same way! It’s eye-opening!
I can’t say that its the kind of thing I would wear unless I was feeling really bold, but I can see they’ve made an amazing choice of shades and how they would present this palette. I think a lot of beauty fans are going to be really captivated by it!
Hey Alison I know what you mean! The thing is that you can definitely do pretty subdued look with this as well, maybe just use the bolder shades on your lower lash line. However it is true that it might be more worth the money if you’re going to use all of them!
This is a gorgeous palette! I’m curious how you mixed the shades, did you layer them on your arm and then mix or some other way? I’ve never tried mixing before, I could not have guessed the shades were mixed, the end color is so even!
Hey Ankita, I do the same thing when I swatch (with fingertips) and apply on my lids (with brush). I basically dab a bit of each shade, put it on, and see what I need more to get the mix that I want. The shade you dab last tend to show up more, but you can definitely tweak it a bit to get your desired end result. Hope this helps!
I need to have that palette. The swatches are amazing.
You need to at least check it out Jacqueline! I used it for the first time today and I was blown away again!
I’m so in love with this palette, ugh! When swatched wet it’s even more gorgeous, woaw! Love, love, love!
When you use the shades wet they’re unstoppable! Not for the faint-hearted lol
wooww o_o. Love the pigmentations of the palette! And very lovely colors ❤
Exactly Yak Man! The pigmentation level is really through the roof!
This is the first palette from EL that I’m actually craving about. Love it !
Oh I totally understand!
So pigmented and so pretty!! I was going to pick this one up, but now that I have my Lise Watier palette my purple cravings have been satisfied haha! This is really pretty though and I like the formula of these shadows a lot!
Haha you guys are lucky with those great local brands! The formula is indeed amazing! Such incredible lasting power especially when used wet!
Gah. This looks absolutely gorgeous, Sunny — and I love your swatches! (I have a hard time getting mine that even.) The pigmentation & finish of these when used wet looks incredible; I’m going to have to check this one out!!
❤ ❤ ❤
Eeee thanks so much for the compliment Rae! Maybe you are not rough enough when you do swatches? haha
You really should check it out! I used it today and couldn’t believe when the shades are used wet as eyeliner they STAY PUT on my monolids!
Goodness gracious–every single color, even the liner, is SO rich and pigmented! And I LOVE that purple shade!
Thanks Becca! While I wouldn’t wear fuchsia too often, I honestly don’t mind a bit of purple every day!
That palette is SO gorgeous, wow. I’m so tempted!
You should be! At least swatch it when you get the chance! I’m posting my final review and FOTDs soon!
I love that you mixed the colors! The purple looks great!
Emily
eageremily.blogspot.com
Thanks Emily! You should try mixing as well! I’ve only started but it’s fun!
I’ve fallen in love with that palette, the colours look amazingly bright and beautiful.
Hey Kelly, if you like bright colors I would really recommend this one! I’ve been playing with it, and there is just so much you can do! Use it try, use it wet, use the shades wet as a liner… Awesome!
I’m seriously tempted to buy it. Great review BTW 😉
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